National Heart Attack Alert Program
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Coordinating Committee Meeting
10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY MEETING

June 25–26, 2001
Alexandria, Virginia

HIGHLIGHTS

• The NHAAP Coordinating Committee celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the NHAAP at this meeting.
• Four new representatives were welcomed to the Coordinating Committee: Dr. Arthur Dresdale of the American Association of Health Plans, Dr. George Anderson of the American College of Preventive Medicine, Mr. John McGinnity of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and Dr. Charles Eaton of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
• Ms. Mary Hand gave an update on work that is going on at the Institute including a strategy development workshop to plan an educational agenda on women and heart disease, the recently funded community-based Cardiovascular Enhanced Dissemination and Utilization Centers, and the new cholesterol guidelines issued by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) National Cholesterol Education Program.
• Mr. Keith Hewitt updated the Coordinating Committee on the Cardiovascular Health (CVH) 2002 conference in Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Myron Weisfeldt presented the Post Resuscitative and Initial Utility in Life Saving Efforts (PULSE) research and asked the NHAAP to adopt the agenda as a new direction for improving CVH.
• Ms. Hand provided a presentation on the progress and accomplishments of the NHAAP over its 10-year history.
• The Education, Health Systems, and Science Base subcommittees went through the nominal group process in order to begin setting the Program’s agenda for the next five years.
• Dr. Charles Curry discussed under recognition and treatment of heart attacks in Blacks.
• Dr. Patrice Devigne-Nickens presented information on ethnic and gender symptom presentations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
• Dr. M. Janice Gilliland reported findings on the heart attack symptom experience based on retrospective data collection from hospital records on 1,500 patients from the Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment (REACT) study.
• Dr. Lawton Cooper summarized REACT findings on coronary heart disease [CHD] symptom knowledge and attribution.
• Dr. Robert Christenson reviewed the consensus document of the Joint European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology Committee for the Redefinition of Myocardial Infarction, and its implications.
• Dr. Jean McSweeney provided an overview of her qualitative research on women from rural Arkansas and Texas with prodromal and acute symptoms of AMI.
• Dr. Raymond Bahr reported on recognition of prodromal symptoms of a heart attack.
• Ms. Paula Upshaw told her story as a young Black woman who was misdiagnosed when she had her heart attack.
• Chairs of the Science Base Subcommittee, the Health Systems Subcommittee and the Education Subcommittee presented the subcommittee recommendations for work over the next 5 years.
• Dr. Myron Weisfeldt addressed the Committee on a broad research agenda for cardiac and traumatic resuscitation and the need for a permanent clinical trials “network.”